"PARAUAPEBAS, BRAZIL - JULY 20, 2016: Joao Alves da Conceicao (47) is one of the 119 families living in the Frei Henri des Roziers Camp, established by the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST) in Aug. 8, 2010. The landless peasants are occupying a 400-hectare estate known as Fazendinha, located off federal highway BR-155 roughly 100 kilometres from the city of Marabá, southern Para. They say that the purported owners of the estate, formerly a cattle ranch, created it by invading and illegally deforesting public land, and that at the time of the occupation, it had been left idle and unproductive. This is the justification for almost all of the land occupations by social movements demanding agrarian reform in Brazil. The occupation of Fazendinha has led to bitter conflicts with local ranch owners, who have joined forces and hired private armed guards to intimidate the landless farmers and destroy their crops, shooting everyday against the houses. This has led half of the families to leave the camp. Joao says: ""This is a lawless state. When the land is power a slide of beef for export has more value than a human life""."
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